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I Forge Iron

Hauling a hammer a LONG way


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Hey all! I am getting my first big hammer this week. Woohoo! 

I’ll be picking up a 250# Murray hammer this week (similar in a lot of ways to a Little Giant of the same weight).The only problem is, it’s in Washington state and I live in Georgia. The drive isn’t the problem, it is safely moving the hammer I’m concerned about.

I was planning on hauling the hammer in the bed of my F450 flatbed. It should handle the weight without much issue (approx 5500#) but I am still debating on having it standing up or laying down. With the machinery I have available, it would be much easier to have it stay standing. 

My question is, is this an absolutely horrible idea to have a huge hammer standing up in the bed of my flatbed? I am pretty sure the hammers have the weight centered in the sow block, but it is still going to be top-heavy. If I’m driving 2515 miles with hammer in my truck though, I want to do it right. If I need to lay it down to be safer, I will 100% figure out a way! 

Thank you very much for any help you can give!

 -RM

 

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A high center of gravity can rock your vehicle. One sudden stop or a corner to make things go sideways. (pun intended). 

Be certain to measure the total height of the vehicle and load, with properly inflated tires.  Leave additional room for vehicle bounce. Bridges with an arch over the drive lanes sometimes have one height for the middle of the arch and another height for the edge of the arch. You want to be sure you can go under things with room to spare.

Tie the load down so it can not move and check the bindings early and often to see that they are still tight.

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Good Morning,

Height restriction for the highway is 14 feet. Weight restriction is GVW for vehicle (vehicle plus everything in and on the deck). Not being a Commercial Vehicle, you do not 'HAVE TO' stop at Highway Scales. Their concern is, weight on each tire causing undo pressure on the pavement (Truckers call this 'Ground Pressure').

Look at the sidewall of your tires, there is a maximum load rating. If you are under the load rating of the tires, under 14 feet high, you should be good to go. Yes, it will make the vehicle more stable if the load was lower. You can make a crib with wood blocks, to support the load on it's side.

I have shipped Power Hammers east to west. figure out how much it will cost you in fuel, accomodation and meals to make the trip. Phone a few reputable Freight Companies and ask for a quote from point A to point B. They will want to know the foot print and weight. It might be less expensive for you to stay home. The big trucks are running everyday and they are always looking for loads. You will be surprised how inexpensive it is.

Neil

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Is it possible to get a small trailer? I picked up my Anyang 88 in Decatur Tx, and live in southern AZ, it weighs right around 4000#  I used a trailer used to transport scissor lifts. Also, I used chain boomers... made sure the thing was not going ANYWHERE.

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1 hour ago, arftist said:

While it could be done either way, it is absolutely safer laying down. 

Duly noted. I called up another friend as well who said the same thing. 

 

51 minutes ago, Glenn said:

Be certain to measure the total height of the vehicle and load, with properly inflated tires.  Leave additional room for vehicle bounce.

Absolutely. Upon some measurements, it would work in theory, but safer is far, far better in my opinion. Should I disassemble the hammer any before transport? I’ll have a full day to tinker before leaving WA back to GA. 

34 minutes ago, swedefiddle said:

I have shipped Power Hammers east to west. figure out how much it will cost you in fuel, accomodation and meals to make the trip. Phone a few reputable Freight Companies and ask for a quote from point A to point B. You will be surprised how inexpensive it is.

Neil,

thanks so much for the info! I have looked into the freight option, but it was notably more expensive than gas for me. I will be camping for most of the drive, and I already had the truck. I had this whole week free too so it works out well I suppose... (maybe I won’t agree after the long drive :D) 

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Greetings 556, 

           You can just rent a car hauling tandem from  U haul for cheap and save yourself A two ton aggravation. Much easier to load and unload. Just this ol boys 2c. 

Forge on and make beautiful things 

Jim

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Will you be traveling from Atlanta to Washington with an empty load? You may want to consider picking up a load to help offset the gas costs. I would mention where to look for loads, but my post would probably be deleted and I would be issued another 2 warnings for advertising and swearing. Apparently, an advertisement is like swearing on this site, lol.

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I hauled my 50# LG laying flat on my car hauler fully assembled. I laid it on tires for cushion and cribbing for solidity. I tied it down with pro trucker size nylon cargo straps. I worked road maintenance and you find them along the highways all the time everybody had more than they needed. Chains and binders are good but cross tie them, chain has NO stretch so they can vibrate or bounce loose. Get out, take a leak and walk around the load every 2 hrs or so, especially if something loosens up ONCE. 

Mine rode clean with the motor up but I was ready to pull it if necessary. 

It'd be safe enough hauling it upright on your rig (without me looking up the vehicle specs that is) if YOU'RE up to hauling a top heavy load. It WILL be top heavy and ruts in the pavement are going to scare blank out of you till you get used to anticipating and avoiding them. Duallies are more susceptible to ruts than intuition says they should be but they're more stable even so. 

Stick to main highways, take plenty of breaks ALWAYS check the load and truck TIRES! every time. Just make it a habit to do a walk around. Stop and do a sort of unfocused eyeball from a distance when you stop AFTER taking a break. You'll be AMAZED how something wrong will JUMP OUT at you with a distant scan. Take it slow and easy and don't be afraid to sit out bad weather.

Were I not semi disabled I'd make the haul, up or down on the truck or trailer. 

Frosty The Lucky.

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I had mine shipped it wasn't to expensive and alot cheaper than me driving up and back to get it i asked for it to be delivered on a truck with a lift gate and a strong enough pallet jack .WE had it off the truck and in place pretty quick very little lifting and rigging required.

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Check height clearance on everything.  

The 11 foot 8 Bridge (formally known as the Norfolk Southern–Gregson Street Overpassand nicknamed The Can-Opener) is a railroad bridge in Durham, North Carolina, United States, that has attracted media coverage and popular attention because tall vehicles such as trucks, buses, and RVs frequently collide with the unusually low overpass, resulting in damage ranging from RV roof air conditioners being scraped off to entire truck roofs being removed.The 79-year-old bridge along South Gregson Street provides only 11 feet 8 inches (3.56 m) of vertical clearance. It cannot be raised because nearby railroad crossings would also have to be raised with it. The street also cannot be lowered because a major sewer line runs only four feet (1.2 m) under Gregson Street.

Gregson Street is a one-way street going southbound, so the bridge is only hit from the north side. Despite numerous signs and warning devices, a truck crashes into the bridge on average at least once a month. Most crashes involve rental trucks, even though rental agencies warn renters about the under-height bridges in the area.

There is a bridge with 10 Foot 6 Bridge in Westwood, Massachusetts

ALWAYS check height clearance on everything you want to go under.

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I've had hammers back hauled from points south and west (I'm in the NE USA) by a local trucking company that occasionally has empty trucks in an odd part of the country and just wants to cover fuel expenses on the way home.  Couple of hundred bucks as long as seller and buyer are flexable enough to wait for the right trucking situation.  Call a local outfit and ask about back hauling.

Failing that, rent or borrow a trailer and you can haul it from here to tomorrow with the 450.  I would suggest that laying one down and standing it up again safely is on the prerequisite skill list for owning big equipment.  Or at least you should know someone who can do it!

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I just hauled a Moloch 250 this last weekend Roughly 750 miles. I stood mine up. I could be wrong, but I thought I had read somewhere that the chance of breaking the hammer is higher when laying down. And then add in the quality of our roads in Canada and that just raises that risk higher. 

What I do is a chain around the sow block pulling forward, a chain around sow block pulling backward, a chain to the top pulling sideways, another chain to the top pulling to the other side. Safety wire all boomers, make sure the chains are screaming tight on both ends of each chain. 

Next I put four 2” wratchet straps rated for 2200lbs each going all 4 directions as added safety. 

 The hammer is on a flat deck trailer with tandem 7000lb axles. I would absolutely NOT haul this big of a hammer on a F550 let alone a F450. 

 This is the second 250lb hammer i’ve Hauled over 700 miles with no issues. 

 

Timber

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Agreed, upright is safer for the hammer. I used a LOT of cribbing when I laid my 50# LG on it's side to haul and only tied it down directly over points supported by cribbing so there were no bending forces on it. Heck, I laid the base course of cribbing to stiffen flex by the trailer's deck planks and bridge the steel cross members. 

It was IIRC 275 mile trip over Alaska rough roads and the chains didn't even scuff the paint. Rigging it to stand up as it slid off the trailer was the trickiest part of the move. Having concrete floors lets me move it precisely with a pinch bar, no sweat. It's held in position in the shop with a pin in a gozinta. It's not a hard mount but it can't go walkabout. 

Frosty The Lucky.

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My 250 moved twice standing up. It was the choice of pros moving it to do so. Now, I only hauled it around 22 miles, but that should not be an issue with stability. Beware, mine scaled over 7000 and I dont think that is uncommon. Best of luck with the move, awsome machine, you will enjoy it.

20190322_130520.jpg

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Hi all! I am so sorry for the delay in replying, but the hammer has safely made it back! 81 hours of driving over the course of 6 days was pretty tiring though. It also didn't leave me much time to browse and reply on my favorite blacksmithing forum :D

After the recommendations of many here, and those on the ground out there in WA, we decided to try to lay the hammer down. It ended up working really well. We built a pretty solid crib out of 8x8's and some 6x6's cut to size and put tires below these as a shock absorber. (I honestly don't think it made a big difference with the tires, but it did make me feel better about it all.) The hammer is now in it's new temporary loaction as a new shop and base is built for it soon! Once my wife and I are established at our new property, it will all be good to go. A quick test run confirms that the hammer is still fully operational! Everyone was safe, and the hammer made it back in one piece. Mission accomplished!

Thanks to all for your help and your time in replying. I'm stoked to get this thing set up permanently! 

 

(First Pic: Hammer before loading)

(Second Pic: First cradle, not a great pic, ended up changing it a bit for more stability anyways) 

image2.jpeg

image1.jpeg

Also, to those suggesting bringing a load out to help offset the cost, I actually brought a motorcycle out to one of my groomsmen who lives in WA. I owe him so many favors at this point that it was fitting for him to get some free shipping :D 

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3 hours ago, RKM556 said:

Hi all! I am so sorry for the delay in replying,

You SHOULD BE! Where was the live streaming video coverage and commentary? How do we know you're really tired or just loafing without being able to watch? Hmmmm?

Glad you made it safe and in tact. I like a man who builds the shop around his equipment and tools. ;)

We will get a blow by blow of the shop build won't we?

Frosty The Lucky.

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  • 4 weeks later...

Wow... man I was trying to remember your name and get back to you a while ago, I know you'd reached out to me vis a vis doing some groundwork for this end of the move, my apologies for not following up further.  I'm glad to see you made it happen!  I'd been watching that machine on the local CL here for several months, it's a good looking machine especially if you can find some real dies for it.
Congrats!

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